HELP US DESIGN
A GREAT PLACE
FOR CARMEL.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The City of Carmel is beginning to plan the redevelopment of the former CNO campus, one of its most significant opportunities for future growth. Given the size and potential of the site, the City knows this effort calls for a thoughtful and customized approach. To help shape the vision, the City invited Yard & Company to demonstrate how its nationally recognized process could guide the project. While the City anticipates the site will include housing and retail, it has also asked us to explore how a convention center could be incorporated into the overall concept.
tHE CITY’S ASK: BUILD CARMEL’S NEXT GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD
The City imagines the redeveloped CNO site as a lively and well-connected place with a balance of different uses, like homes, shops, and parks. It will have streets and trails that link everything together, open public spaces, and green areas. The focus will be on creating exceptional places for people to enjoy, using sustainable practices, and bringing in new, smart public features.
CNO Site History
The CNO Financial Group had its headquarters along North Pennsylvania Street and City Center Drive for nearly 35 years before relocating to the newly built open lane office complex at Illinois and West 111th Streets. The multi-site, 1970s-constructed office complex no longer suited the company's modern needs.
OUR APPROACH
This once-in-a-generation redevelopment should happen with Carmel, not to it
The best ideas don’t come from working alone, but through a thoughtful process alongside local expertise. A design competition like this is less about choosing a favorite plan and more about finding the right community partner. Starting in September, this partner will help stakeholders identify the problems the city most needs to address, test a variety of strategic responses to meet those challenges head-on, and smartly implement those solutions over several years and phases.
More than two concepts, the ideas presented here are a reflection of how our approach functions. The real vision will come from working together in the months ahead.
CLARIFYING THE
problemS we are solving
This fall’s master planning process will formally commence by confirming the specific challenges that the CNO site's reuse addresses for Carmel residents. Based on initial discussions with City leaders, these challenges include, but are not limited to:
Broaden the range of housing options
Unlock reinvestment and connectivity in the US 31 corridor
Address regional stormwater constraints
Further diversify Carmel’s economy
PRINCIPLES
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Visitors are great, even needed, but the resident experience comes first. Together, we’re going to build neighborhoods for all life’s stages, not just housing; places, not just attractions. It needs to work everyday, not just when a big event is on.
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Carmel has become renowned for its walkability. This has been a powerful driver of resident quality of life, jobs, corporate headquarters, visitor numbers, and investment. The size of the CNO site allows the City to once again raise the bar on what walkability could feel like.
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A large site takes many years to build out. Economies, market preferences, and opportunities will change. The vision should set that north star, provide flexible development sites, and be adaptable to change. A mega-site approach got us here, it won’t get us to where we need to be.
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Everything about this site’s repurposing should have an eye toward what we leave the next generation. If buildings or trees can be salvaged, let’s do it. If we can solve not just this site’s but the area’s stormwater demands, now is the time. If we want this site to create an economic engine that justifies the ongoing investment, let’s make sure we are building that value into every decision we make.
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Whether you are an established company relocating to Carmel or a spin off just getting off the ground, this district should be one of your top options to take root.
A demonstration of two personalities
Fundamental to our process is uncovering personalities for places. Once established, this personality informs and shapes the complexity of decisions that follow, everything from program, to design, to how the place sustainably contributes to the quality of life of all Carmelites.
THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE ARE TESTING TWO CONCEPTS FOR WHAT COULD COME OF THIS SITE.
PERSONALITY ONE:
the warm host
Grounded, welcoming, and people first. SUNDAY loves porches, parks, and everyday moments. It is not just a neighborhood. It is a blueprint for a life well lived.
THE DETAILS
PERSONALITY TWO:
THE VISIONARY CREATOR
Imaginative, bold, and full of energy. STRATUS is all about big ideas, playful design, and creating spaces that spark wonder and push what is possible.
THE DETAILS
HOW WE GOT HERE
The City of Carmel issued a Design Brief along with several supporting documents that may be found below.
THE ROAD AHEAD
THE PROCESS AFTER THE COMPETITION
The Design Competition is a demonstration of the potential partner’s approach. The real work begins after the competition concludes later this month. The process moving forward will be refined with the City, but typically includes at a minimum:
Exploration
Site due diligence/analysis
Market analysis/positioning
Stakeholder interviews
Confirm the problems that need solving
Setting the project ”north star”
Testing of ideas
Robust pubic involvement
Prototyping neighborhood personalities and concepts (on paper and on site)
Market verification
Stakeholder input and feedback
Site assembly strategy
Building the master plan
Cost analysis
Infrastructure plan and phasing strategy
Vision document and marketing package
Phase one design and early site activation
Development partner recruitment
ABOUT YARD & CO.
Yard & Company is a cross-disciplinary design company that works with cities, developers, districts, and neighborhoods to bring places to life. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Yard has worked in 17 states and over sixty cities. We have worked extensively with the City of Carmel since 2019.